Attachment for bass drums.



T. WILSON.

ATTACHMENT Fon Ass nRuMs.

l 4 APPLICATIN FILED MAR. 23, |914. 1,281,465. y Patented oct. 15, 1918..

l 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

T. WILSON.

. ATTACHMENT FOR BASS DRUMS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 23. 1914., 1,281,465. Patented oen15,1918

2 .SHEETS-SHEET 2.

nu: nouns nur ca.. nmo-urummsnmcron. n. c.

lUNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

TOM WILSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WILSONLJACOBS DRUM MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

ATTACHMENT FOR BASS DRUMS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 15, 1918.

Application led March 23, 1914. Serial No. 826,799.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known I, ToM WILSON, a citizen of the United States, residin at Chicago, in the county of Cook and tate of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Bass Drums, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to attachments for bass drums, and its purpose is to provide improved apparatus for soundin the drum and the cym al carried thereby y a single movement of the operators foot.

The principal object of this invention is t0 provide an apparatus of the kind referred to in which the beater will strike the drumhead at a point adapted to produce the best tone.

Another object is to provide means for sounding the cymbal carried by the drum at the same instant that the beater strikes the drum head, and further to provide means whereby said cymbal striking member may be readily thrown into inoperative position.

Still another object is to provide a device of the kind referred to whichwill be eiicient and quick acting.

Other objects will be set forth and made apparent in the following specification, of which the accompanying drawings form a part.

In the drawings- Figure l is a partial side elevation of a drum showing my improved drum and cymbal-playing attachment assembled andv secured thereto.

Fig. 2 is a partial front elevation of the same showing my attachment just as it is being actuated to sound the cymbal and drum.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of my attachment showing a portion of the drum hoop.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the beater arm showing a portion of the standard in elevation.

Fig. 5 shows my improved device for attaching the cymbal to the drum.

Fig. 6 shows a detail section of the cymbal striker arm mounting; and I Fig. 7 shows a side elevation of a bracket member for the cymbal striker arm.

Referring to the drawings, the bass drum designated generally by the numeral 10 comprises the beater head 11 and the hoop 12, and carries the cymbal 13. These parts form no part of my invention and are shown merely as a basis for describing the application of my improved attachment.

My invention comprises a standard 14 having a base plate 15 and upwardly extending forked arms 16, between which is mounted a shaft 17. A hub member 18 is journaled on the shaft and has formed integrally therewith a sleeve 19 whose axis is inclined at an oblique angle to. the axis ofv said shaft, for a purpose to be hereinafter set forth.

Slidably mounted in the sleeve 19 is the Y beater arm 20, which carries at its outer end the beater 20a. The beater arm has a longitudinal groove 22 therein, and a thumb screw 23, which threadedly engages the sleeve, coacts with said groove and, when tightened, serves to maintain the beater arm in non-rotatable and non-slidable position. Intermediate the sleeve 19 and the beater 20@L on the beater arm 20 is a stud 24, having an enlarged head 25 which is apertured Vto closely iit the arm 20. A combined bracket and clamping member 26, which is apertured at 26a to be engaged by the stud and which seats upon the head 25, has a depending sleeve 26b which'extends downwardly around said head. This sleeve has alining notches 26c in the lower edge thereof which are adapted to engage the arm 20 when the member 26 is slightly out of contact with the head 25. The member 26 has an annular projecting shoulder 26d formed on its upper surface around the aperture 26a. A segmental arcuate lug 26 is formed adjacent the periphery of the upper surface of the member 26 and extends upwardly of said surface. The cymbal striker arm 27. whose oset outer end carries the cymbal striker 27a, is provided with the bearing portion 2'?"b which seats upon the member 26. This portion 27b is apertured at27c to closely fit the annular shoulder 26d, and the rotation of the arm about said shoulder is limited by the lug 26e. The shoulder 26d preferably extends from the surface of the member 26 a distance greater than the thickness of the bearing portion 27h of the arm 27, so that said portion may revolve freely beneath the washer 28 which seats upon said shoulder. A wing nut 29 engages the outer end of the stud 24, and by inea-ns thereof the clamping bracket member may be caused to grip the beater arm and prevent rotation of the cymbal striker arm around the beater arm as an axis.

It will be observed that the lug 26e is so located with reference to the notches 26c that the c vinbal striker arm is retained in position to sound the cymbal, as shown clearly iii Figs. 2 and When in the position shown in Fig. 2 it is apparent that the operation of the beater arm 20#whereby the drum is sounded-will also cause the striker arm 27 to sound the cymbal. lVhen it is not desired to play the cymbal, the arm 27 may be swung into inoperative position with the inner portion thereof abutting against the other end of the lug 26e.

The hub 18 has formed thereon, on the opposite side thereof from the sleeve 19, a lug 30 which is apertured to receive one end of a spring 31. The other end of this spring is secured to a stud 32, which passes through an aperture in a lug 33 formed on thc standard 14. A hand nut 34 engagesv the threaded lower end of the stud 32 and furnishes means whereby the tension of the spring 31 may be adjusted. The hub 18 also has formed thereon, adjacent the sleeve 19 but displaced a slight angular distance therefrom, an operating arm 35 whose outer end is apertured at 36 and has pivoted therein an operating link 37. The lower end of this operating link is pivoted at 38 t0 the projecting arm 39 of a foot pedal 40. The center line of the foot pedal is in a vertical plane passing through the standard 14, and the projecting arm 39 on said foot pedal is offset to pass at one side of the standard, so that there is ample clearance tlierebetween. The foot pedal is pivoted at 41 to the-heel pla-te 42, the upper surface of which is serrated so that the foot of the operator will not slide out of position while he is operating the foot pedal.

The base plate 15 of the standard 14 is placed beneath the hoop 12 of the drum, as Shown most clearly in Fig. 1, and a clamping member 43 is seated on said base plate and has a projecting jaw 44 which is adapted to engage the upper side of the hoop. A vertically extending stud 45 is fixed on the base plate and extends upwardly through an aperture in the clamping member. A Wingnut engages the upper portion of said stud above said clamping member and furnishes means whereby the hoop l2 may be tightly gripped between the base plate 15 and the clamping member 43, thereby securing the standard 14 and the parts carried thereby in fixed relation to the drum. The clamping member 43 has two projecting arms 46 which pass at either side of the standard and which bear at their extremities on the base plate. Lugs 46a are formedV on the inner sides of the arm 46 and are adapted to bear against the standard to prevent lateral displacement of the clamping inember 43 with respect to the base plate.

Each of the extending arms 46 is apertured at 47 to receive the projecting hooks 48 on the spacing and connecting -link 49. rI`his spacing link is formed of a single loop of wire, and the portion 49 thereof serves as the pivotal axis by means of which the foot pedal 40 is pivoted to the heel-plate 42. Thus, it is apparent that a single loop of wire serves notonly as means for pivoting the foot pedal on the hcel plate, but also as a spacing member by means of which said heel plate is maintained in fixed relation to the base plate. It is also apparent that when it is desired to disassemble the apparatus the arms of the spacing link 49 may be pressed inwardly to cause the hooks 48 to disengage the apertures 47 iii the clamping member 43.

I have provided improved means for attaching the cymbal to the drum, which coinprises a plate 50 having a longitudinal slot 51 therein, through which the usual stud carried by the cymbal may be passed and securedthereto by means of the usual Wingnut. The plate 50 has formed thereon a transversely projecting shoulder 52, which is adapted to engage one side of the drum hoop. A hooked arm 53 extends to a position opposite said shoulder and is threadably engaged by a stud 54, which has a cap fixed in swivel relation on the end thereof opposite the shoulder When it is desired to attach the cymbal to the drum, this device is arranged with the shoulder 52 coactiiig with the inner surface-of the drum hoo at the desired osition around the periphery thereof, anc the stud 54 is then adjusted to cause the cap 55 to tightly grip the outer side of the drum hoop. It is apparent that thc cymbal may be made to assume a Wide range of positions radially of the drum within the longitudinal slot 51.

In Fig. 2 is shown a spike 56 which is adapted to be attached to the drinn hoop in a position to contact with the floor and prevent the ldrinn from rollin out of position after the drum and c vm al-playing apparatus has been secured thereto.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that I have provided an improved device whereby the drum head and the cymbal carried b the drum may be-sounded simultaneously y the single downward fio stroke 0f the foot pedal 40, which is actuated bythe foot ofthe operator. In prior devices of this kind the arrangement of parts has been such that the beater struck the drum at the center thereof, thereby1 producing a bad tone. By arranging t e beater arm of my device at anangle to the axis of the hub 18 I haveprovided means Whereby the beater 2Oa will always strike the drum headsomedi'stance from the center thereof, which is indicated in Fig. 2 by the numeral 11a. It is obvious that the length of the beater arm may be adjusted to vary the length of stroke thereof byy adjusting the beater arm in the sleeve 19. Whatever the position of the beater arm in the sleeve, however, it is apparent that the beater Will always strike the drum head at a considerable distance from the center thereof.

The cymbal striker arm 27 may also be made to assume different positions on the beater arm 20 b y sliding the head 25 and stud 24 on said arm. Thus the cymbal striker' may be made to sound the cymbal at various different points thereon. By adjusting the cymbal Within the slot 51 it is obvious that a still greater variation can be made in the relation of the striker arm 29 and the cymbal 13.

In my device it will be seen that the foot pedal is directly connected to the hub member upon which the beater arm is mounted so that the beater arm responds quickly to the movement of the foot of the operator, and the spring 31 serves to return the beater arm almost instantly to its initial position.

While I have described in detail one particular .form of my invention, I do not Wish to be limited to the particular form here described, or restricted in the scope of my invention except as defined by the appended claims.

I claim 1. In a device of theK character described, a standard, and a beater arm pivoted thereon, said beater arm being inclined to a plane at right angles to the pivotal axis.

2. In a device of the character described, a standard adapted to be secured to the hoop of a drum, and a beater arm pivoted on said standard in a position inclined to a vertical plane at right angles to the plane of the drum head.

3. In a device ofthe character described. a standard, a hub rotatably carried by said standard, a beater arm mounted on said hub and making an oblique angle with the axis thereof, and means to vary the effective length of said beater arm.

1. In a device of the character described, a standard, a hub rotatably carried by said standard, a sleeve mounted on said hub, a beater arm slidably mounted in said sleeve, a cymbal striker projecting from said beater arm, said beater arm having `a longitudinally extending groove formed therein, and clamping means engaging said groove and the wall ofthe sleeve. 5: In a device of the-character described, a standard, said standard Lhaving upwardly extending forked arms, a hub rotatably mounted" betweensaid arms', a sleeve mounted on said hub at an oblique angle to the axis thereof, a beater arm slidably mounted in said sleeve, means to secure said beater arm in fixed position in said sleeve, means to rotate said hub to actuate said beater arm, and means to return said beater arm to its initial position after it has been actuated.

6. In a device of the character described, a standard comprising a base plate and up- Wardly extending forked arms, a hub carrying a beater arm mounted between said arms, an operating arm extending from said hub between said forked arms, a link connecting said operating arm to one end of a foot pedal, a heel plate upon which said foot pedal is pivoted, and means to space said heel plate from said base plate.

7. In a device of the character described, a standard having a base plate and carrying a beater arm, a clamping member seated on said base plate, means to retain said clamping member on said base plate and to draw said parts together to grip the hoop of a drum, a foot pedal to actuate said beater arm, a heel plate, and a single member to pivotally connect said foot pedal and heel plate and to space said foot pedal and heel plate from said clamping member and base plate.

8. In a device of the character described, a standard having a base plate and carrying a beater arm, a foot pedal to actuate said beater arm, a heel plate upon Whichvsaid foot pedal is pivoted, a separable clamping me1nber seated on said base plate, means to retain said clamping member on said base plate and to cause said clamping member and base plate to grip t-he hoop of a drum, said clamping member comprising two arms extending on either side of said standard and adapted to rest at their extremities on said base plate, said extending arms being apertured at their extremities, and a member which serves as the pivotal axis of said foot pedal and heel plate having its ends detachably engaging the apertures in the extending arms of said clamping member, whereby said heel plate and clamping member are spaced apart.

9. In a device of the class described, a standard, a beater arm pivotally mounted on said standard, a stud engaged by and slidably mounted on the beater arm, a clamping member engaging said stud and beater arm, a cymbal striker engaging said stud and seated on the clamping member, and a nut threadedly engaging said stud.

10. In a device of thel Class described, a der engaging the cymbal striker to hold the standard, av beater arm pivotally mounted on same 1n operative or inoperative position. said standard, a stud siidably mountedon In testimony whereof, I hswe subscribed the beater arm, e ciampingmember' engagmy nemer A ing saidstlrdanni' beater arm, a. cymbal TOM WILSON. striker engaging said stud and seated on the Witnesses:

GLEN E.` SMrrH,

clamping member, :md a nut engaging said HENRY A. PAmis stud, said clamping-member having a shoul- Copiesef this patent may be obtained for ive cents etch, by Mdninf the Golmislloner o! Patents, Washingtonfn. G. 

